Mummies Had Heart Disease, Too

Nov. 17, 2009 (Orlando, Fla.) -- For years, doctors have blamed fast food,
lack of exercise, smoking, and other detrimental
lifestyle factors of modern life for our predisposition to heart disease.

But now, hardening of the arteries, or atherosclerosis, has been
detected in 3,500-year-old mummies, challenging that view.

"What our new findings tells us," says researcher Gregory Thomas, MD, "is
that atherosclerosis has been around since before the times of Moses."

"Atherosclerosis is not just a disease of modern times," says Thomas, a
cardiologist at the University of California at Irvine. "It's part of the human
condition. We have to look beyond modern risk factors to fully understand heart disease."

The research was presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific
Sessions 2009 and simultaneously published online in The Journal of the
American Medical Association.

Atherosclerosis Common in Mummies

For the study, the researchers used CT scans to examine 22 mummies, aged 20
to 60 at the time of death, housed in the Museum of Antiquities in Cairo,
Egypt. The mummies dated from 1981 B.C. to 364 A.D.

The CT images showed evidence of blood vessels in 16 of the mummies. They
were then examined further for the buildup of calcium in the inner walls of
blood vessels, which is considered diagnostic of atherosclerosis.

"Our hypothesis was that they would not have calcification, which proved
untrue," Thomas says.

Definite atherosclerosis was present in five of the 16 mummies and probable
atherosclerosis in four.

Calcification was significantly more common in the mummies estimated to be
45 or older at the time of death, he says.

Specifically, calcification was present in seven of the eight mummies aged
45 or older at time of death, compared with two of eight who were estimated to
have died at a younger age. Men and women were equally likely to have
atherosclerosis.

Atherosclerosis vs. Lifestyle

Thomas says the research has several important implications. "Since
atherosclerosis is so ubiquitous, we should be treating people earlier,
starting at about age 30."

And lifestyle changes, such as eating a healthy diet
or exercising more, won't do the job, Thomas says. "Egyptians did not smoke or
eat processed foods, and presumably they did not live sedentary lives. The only
thing we know to be effective is lipid-lowering drug therapy."